ACE #307: I Wonder What Maya Angelou Would Say Today...

As I reflect on the events of Ferguson, MO I can't help but to wonder what Dr. Maya Angelou would say today in her own words had she lived...

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.

When the human race neglects its weaker members, when the family neglects its weakest one - it's the first blow in a suicidal movement. I see the neglect in cities around the country, in poor white children in West Virginia and Virginia and Kentucky - in the big cities, too, for that matter.

We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

I know that when I pray, something wonderful happens. Not just to the person or persons for whom I'm praying, but also something wonderful happens to me. I'm grateful that I'm heard.

You can't forgive without loving. And I don't mean sentimentality. I don't mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, 'I forgive. I'm finished with it.’ 

Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.

I have a son, who is my heart. A wonderful young man, daring and loving and strong and kind.

About Trayvon Martin's death:

That one man, armed with a gun can actually profile a young man because he is black and end up shooting him dead…it is so painful. What is really injured, bruised, if you will, is the psyche of our national population.  We are all harmed. We are all belittled, and we give to the rest of the world more ammunition to sneer at us. 

...yeah, probably something similar to all she said before Ferguson, MO.  

Unfortunately and sadly, if we don't want our kids to become victims of the system, we must teach them to stay out of the system.  Protect them. Love them. Instruct them. Pray for them.  Yeah...it still hurts. #RIPMikeBrown

Psalm 127:3 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.